'...' thoughts
/.../ telepathy
Daystar's Prophecy Part 28
Heero watched with growing horror from across the battlefield as Zallithus easily lifted his fairy lover from the ground and pressed his small body to the possessed elf's chest. But even as he felt the fury in his heart flare at the sight, the two council elves he was fighting once again demanded his attention. With a swift strike of his sword, he managed to disarm one of his assailants while a quick elemental air blast sent the other flying into the mass of elven and dwarf warriors that surrounding him. Deciding that the press of bodies would keep the elf down long enough for him to deal with the other, he turned his attention back to the one he had just disarmed and was cautiously approaching the elf to insure he was completely out of the fight when Duo's heart wrenching scream spun him around once again. This time though, it was not the sight of his lover writhing in Zallithus' arms that drew his horrified attention. It was the sight of Solo falling heavily to his knees only a short distance from him, an elven council member's sword thrust deep into his back.
Only his training and previous experience on the battlefield allowed him to wrench his eyes from that scene to quickly turn and deal with the disarmed elf. Once he was sure the elf would no longer be a problem, he turned back in the direction he had last seen Solo and plowed madly into the throng of bodies that separated him from the fallen elf. Even as he moved though, he had to fight down his almost desperate desire to go to his little lover, knowing as he did that he would have to trust in Shinigami to keep the boy safe this time. But that did not stop him from taking his frustrations out on those around him as he used his extensive martial arts training in hand-to-hand combat and weapons use, complimented by Reestlin's constant coaching, to cut his way though the army warriors that stood in his path. Only once he was standing over Solo's prone body did he stop and the sight that greeted him made his stomach drop.
"Oh god." he breathed before dropping to the ground beside the blonde-haired elf. Following the attack, Solo had collapsed onto his right side with about five inches of the sword still embedded in his back and Heero immediately grasped the offending object and pulled the blade from the wound. "Fuck!" he exclaimed as blood began to gush from the now free hole and he quickly rolled the elf onto his stomach before pressing both hands down over the wound.
/We have to hurry Heero./ Reestlin's urgent voice recalled his attention to the spirit's continued presence.
"What do I do?" the blue-eye boy asked, fighting to keep his panic from taking over his mind. "How do I save him?"
/You already know what to do./ the spirit of light answered. /You just need to concentrate and let the magic flow./
Still unsure of his abilities when it came to using the magic he had been given, Heero nonetheless focused his attention on the fading body beneath his hands. In the short time since he had knelt at Solo's side, he had felt the life flowing quickly from the elf's body and Heero knew he could not last much longer. So, with that knowledge fueling the urgency of the situation, he closed his eyes and began to focus the magic Reestlin promised was now within him.
Meanwhile, also having seen Solo fall at the hands of one of the council elves, Trowa and Quatre managed to make their way over as well, arriving at the elf's side only a few moments after Heero. They immediately set themselves up to either side of the boy and elf, providing what protection they could. Not too long after, Wufei joined them also. Somewhere in the recess of his mind, Heero recognized their welcomed presence and it allowed him to relax even more, knowing they would watch his back.
/That's it./ Reestlin encouraged as Heero's grasp on the magic increased and he began the process that would heal Solo's wound. /Go slow, he's very close to the edge so you can't rush it./
Listening to the spirit's words and allowing them to guide him, Heero allowed the light magic to flow from the center of his body, into his arms, and out through the palms of his hands where he slowly and gently pressed it into the elf's open wound. In his mind's eye, he could clearly see the soft light that spread out from his hand's contact to completely envelope Solo's body, pulsing along with his own heartbeat. A few minutes later, he sensed as the gaping wound closed up completely but still he continued to feed the magic into the elf's body, restoring and replenishing Solo's lifeforce. Nearly ten minutes after staring the process, Solo suddenly gasped sharply and rolled over onto his back, giving Heero and the others a perplexed look.
"What the hell?" he breathed through a scratchy and dry throat, wringing a hacking cough from him.
"Worry about that later." Heero said in a clearly distracted voice. As soon as he had completed Solo's healing process and regained his equilibrium, he had immediately turned his attention toward where he had last seen Duo and Zallithus, his worry over the braided fairy once again fully in his mind. What he saw once he managed to find them among the other battles though, had his blood flowing cold in his veins and he had immediately stood from the ground. "Something's wrong with Duo."
With that cryptic message, the blue-eyed boy started forward at a dead run, instantly disappearing into the throng that surrounded them.
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Shinigami was definitely enjoying his new freedom. Even the fight with Heero in his spirit form was not as thrilling as the one he was currently engaging in with Zallithus. The feel of an actual, physical body under his control, was giving him a rush he had not felt in a very long time.
"Come on Zall." the spirit chided as he twirled the scythe over his head. "You can to do better than that."
Zallithus merely scowled at the smiling face that stood before him. When Shinigami had taken control following the fairy's break, the mage had felt a moment of elation, knowing that the one person he had ever considered a friend was once again walking the earth, not to mention believing that he had finally won. But the look on that heart-shaped face only seconds later quickly turned any thoughts of a reunion to dust. Since then, he had found himself hard pressed to keep up with Shinigami's attacks.
"You have no room to complain, traitor." the dark mage snarled even as he dodged another swipe of the scythe's blade. He then turned, threw a gaia attack toward the spirit while aiming an overhead swing with his sword at Shinigami's head. With trademark flexibility and agility, the spirit easily dodged the attacks and launched a gaia strike of his own.
"I forgot how much fun this was." the spirit of darkness laughed before twirling away from the dark mage's latest attack. Then, unfurling Duo's wings, he launched himself into the air. For one precarious moment, Shinigami teetered dangerously about twenty feet off the ground while he acquainted himself with how the wings worked before soaring with surprising easy up to a decent height, flitting around at a random pace to insure Zallithus would not have a decent target.
As he continued to dodge the attacks the mage threw at him, he allowed himself to really look down upon the battlefield. A long time ago, the sight of bloody warriors and vicious struggles would have sent his heart to beating faster in anticipation of joining the fray. Now though, the sight only caused his stomach to churn almost painfully, a feeling that eased his soul more than anything. Knowing that the small fairy that now hid deep in their shared mind was the reason for the change, sent a warm feeling coursing through him and he knew he would do almost anything to protect the boy that had accomplished this.
With that thought in mind, he once again turned his attention back to the man who had once been his closest friend. Yet again, the thrill of the fight surged through him and with a keening laugh, he folded the wings along his back, and dove straight for the ground; the scythe poised for a quick strike once he was in range. All the way down, he allowed his laughter to spill from his mouth until it echoed eerily across the battlefield.
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Strike after strike, Heero fought his way across the blood soaked field. With the council members taken down, they only had the army elves to deal with. And since the majority of their dwarf and elven backup had fought their way ahead to try and slow the main body of the army down, they had a reasonably small number to deal with. The elven army was well trained though and was proving to be a hindrance to the human boy as he tried desperately to reach Duo.
Then, with a final swing of his sword and a deft twist to his right, he reached a clearing in the battle, giving him a moment to catch his breath. No more than a few seconds later, just as he was about to reenter the fight, the sound of his lover's voice drew his attention toward the sky and he found himself gawking in utter astonishment as Duo hurtled toward the ground. His attention was so focused on the spiraling dive the braided fairy was currently completing that he did not sense the attack aimed at his back until Reestlin's warning broke him from his trance and sent him dodging to his left, the blast of pure fire that swept past him just barely missing his arm.
/Dammit Heero./ the spirit snarled in his head. /Pay attention to where you are and let Shinigami worry about the fairy./
Accepting the reprimand silently, since he knew he deserved it, the boy turned to face his attacker. The shock, combined with blind fury at the sight of Gaison's smug looking smirk that was directed at him from across the clearing, quickly shoved all thoughts of Duo's fight from his mind.
"Not bad. I see you've managed to merge fairly well with your spirit in such a short amount of time. I'm impressed." the mage said, his lips lifting in a snarl. When he had finally broken down the spells on his cell, he had been only marginally surprised to find the dwarves' stronghold relatively deserted. Only a few stray dwarves and elves, mostly women and children, were left and they had gathered in one of the cafeterias since it was large enough to hold them all while being moderately secure. Not everyone was gathered there though, and it had only taken him a few minutes to find that fat dwarf Howard. It had taken longer to make the dwarf talk, but when he did the mage was surprised to learn that the battle had already started and a little unsettled to learn that his little fairy was right in the middle of it.
He had just increased the magical pressure on the dwarf's heart to try and find the reason for the fairy's involvement when Solo's wife, Hilde, burst into the room along with that little rebel, Jess. Without giving either of them time to cast spells of their own, he had hit them with a powerful wind blast that sent them flying back out of the room before teleporting himself to the battlefield. To his utter delight and repulsion, the first sight when he arrived was of the human boy who had stolen Duo from him. The elemental fire spell was out of his hands before he could even think and it was only luck, and undoubtedly a little help from the boy's hosted spirit that kept him from becoming a black spot on the now wasted field.
On the other side of the clearing in the battlefield, Heero was quick to shake off his shock before leveling his darkest glare at the man that stood not fifteen feet away; the thought of finally facing the one who had hurt his Duo so badly sending a dark thrill to his heart. Carefully ignoring Reestlin's warnings and demands that he control his rage, he shrugged off his weariness and raised his sword before charging across the field, his only thought was of destroying that smug face once and for all.
*************************
As Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei watched Heero disappear into the growing crowd of enemy warriors, they fought their own internal battles against their desire to follow after their friend. But with Solo still not fully recovered and unable to join them, they knew they could not leave the elf. And so they remained behind, hoping that the dark-haired boy would be able to take care of himself.
Not even their fear for Heero's life could keep their attention once the army of soldiers began to close in around them once again though. Being severely outnumbered as they were was a very daunting predicament, but they continued to fight, knowing as they did that they really had no other choice but to do so. Trowa and Quatre stood side by side, joining their powers of earth and water as they continually pushed the elves back, only using their weapons on those who came too close. Meanwhile, Wufei stood on the other side of Solo and brought the full force of his fire element to bear on those who managed to advance within their perimeter. Then, once he had cleared a rather large opening, he charged forward with his staff, the weapon flashing in the dull light as he twirled and thrust it into the mass of bodies that stood before him. He was so intent on his attack that he did not even sense the elf that managed to break through the lines and approached him from the back. It was only as the elf's sword was arching through the air, aimed for his head, that the feeling caught him and he turned, knowing it was already too late.
But instead of seeing the end of his life rushing toward him, he found himself staring at Solo's strong shoulders as the green-eyed elf quickly pushed the attacker back, his sword piercing the elf through the heart. When he turned a moment later and flashed the black-haired human a quick smile, Wufei knew more than anything that he was finally recovered and with a nod of his head, the dark-haired boy acknowledged his thanks. Solo returned the motion before coming to stand at the boy's side. Together, they turned to face the newly advancing horde.
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/You cannot allow your anger to control you!/ Reestlin's angry and frustrated voice echoed through Heero's mind, nearly sending him reeling from the force of it. /He is using your anger against you and if you keep allowing him to do so, he will win./
Heero knew the spirit was speaking the truth, the taunts and snide remarks that Gaison had been throwing at him since their fight had begun were quickly taking their toll on his attention, causing him to make stupid mistakes. One of those mistakes was the reason he was currently sporting a rather large gash on his upper left arm. Not anything serious, but enough to make wielding the sword a bit more difficult.
Try as he may though, he could not force himself to calm down. Every time the mage would even mention Duo's name, he would flash back to the scene in the mountain clearing of his small, angelic lover trapped beneath the man, sobbing in pain and fear. That was all it took to send the blue-eyed boy rushing across the clearing that had opened up around them, seeking only to destroy the one responsible for putting those emotions on Duo's face.
/Do you have so little faith in your little fairy's devotion to you that you would allow this man to enflame your jealousy?/ the spirit of light demanded.
'No,' Heero thought. 'that's not it. He hurt Duo and he has to pay for it.'
/Yes, he hurt him./ Reestlin stated, a bit more calmly as he finally felt Heero beginning to respond to him. /But you saved him and took him to a place where he was healed. You cannot change the past Heero, this is something you know. So why do you fear his statements unless you fear that he might take the fairy from you?/
'I'm not jealous.' The dark-haired boy protested. 'I know Duo would never want anything to do with this slime.'
/Then act like it./ the spirit snapped. /Honor your chosen by killing the man responsible for his pain, but do so without degrading the love that is between you. Anger and rage have no place in this Heero. Do not allow them to dim the light./
And suddenly Heero understood. As they had fought, his powers had begun to steadily weaken but he had simply chalked it up to fatigue from the many battles he had already participated in. Now he realized that it was his own dark feelings that were dampening the power within him. But rage, once allowed free, is hard to put back into its cage. For probably the first time, in a very long time, Heero felt grateful for his training at the hands of Dr. J. because with it and a quick but steady breath, he managed to forcibly shove the anger to the back of his mind and allowed himself to concentrate fully on the fight before him.
From behind his shield on the other side of the small clearing, Gaison witnessed the change in the human boy's face and felt a shiver grip his heart. The utterly cold and emotionless expression that stole over that handsome face was so out of place that the mage hesitated for a moment in his magic, allowing his shield to weaken marginally. The blast of air that hit him only a second later shredded through his clothing, leaving them tattered as well as leaving multiple cuts and scraped all over the front of his body. And for the first time during the fight, Gaison felt the same overpowering anger and rage that he had been carefully engendering in the blue-eyed boy grip his own, black heart.
'How dare that impotent little nothing!' his mind roared in defiance of the boy's powers. 'I will not lose to someone such as he!'
With a primal scream, he once again raised his shields fully before drawing the pike he had pulled from one of the fallen elven warrior's back. Then, he started across the field with every intention of finishing the fight once and for all.
As the mage approached, Heero felt an utter calm and quiet settle over him, a feeling he had always hated; the detachment of it. Now though, he welcomed it because he somehow knew it was different than the one his controller had instilled in him. This one came as much from the spirit who shared his body as it did from his own mind and he could sense Reestlin's own calm as they both focused solely on Gaison's approach. Then, when only a few feet separated the two combatants, the dark-haired human boy, moving as if in slow motion and fully under his bonded spirit's instruction, raised his sword so the blade tip was pointing toward the gray sky with the pummel level with his heart. One softly whispered word sent a blinding shaft of the purest white light out from the gleaming, silver sword, striking Gaison in the chest and piercing him through before completely surrounding him in its light. Once the light faded a few seconds later, the dark mage lay face up on the bloody ground, his eyes staring without sight at the heavens above.
For a long moment after the attack, Heero could only stare at the fallen man, his mind numbed by the great outflow of magic and not fully able to comprehend the events as they had just happened. He did not even realize when the sword of light left his tingling hands to land hard on the ground before him. Then, from his right side, a soft hand gently brushed across his cheek causing him to instinctively lean into it warmth.
"Duo." he breathed but the voice that answered was not that of his beloved and he was finally drawn from his trance as his head slowly turned to take in the blonde hair and blue eyes that stared intently back at him.
"Heero?" Quatre asked tentatively once again, his fingers still resting lightly on the blue-eyed boy's cheek. "Are you alright?"
Covered in blood and shaking from the exertion it had taken for the four of them to reach the clearing, combined with the many cuts and shallow wounds that the dark-haired boy could clearly see adorning that pale skin, Quatre look very small and frail at that moment. But Heero knew better, Quatre may be small, but he was most definitely not frail and for just a moment, he allowed himself to draw strength from that soft touch.
"The others?" he asked, reassured when his voice did not reflect the unease that he still felt inside from the use of Reestlin's magic.
"They're here." Quatre said with a smile and nod toward the four who were gathered around them. He was glad to see the other boy finally responding to him. When they had arrived at the clearing, they were shocked and horrified to see Heero standing stock-still while Gaison had charged full on toward him, not so much as shifting a muscle to defend himself. Then, to see the unleashing of Heero's full power only a moment later as well as the results of that blast, they had been left locked in place. Fortunately, so had the elven warriors that were gathered around the clearing.
Finally breaking away from their amazement, they had immediately rushed across the clearing with Quatre reaching Heero first. His first attempts to drawl the other boy's attention though had been met with nothing so he had reached a trembling hand forward to gently graze the boy's cheek, not wanting to startle him. The relief he had felt when those deep blue eyes had turned his way and held recognition in their depths was almost palpable and he could not hold the smile that had escaped across his face.
The fragile peace and quiet that had settled over the clearing following Heero's attack could not last though, and even as the dark-haired boy came more fully back to himself, the elven warriors once again started closing in. Wufei, Trowa, and Solo, who had had moved to keep an eye on the elves once they knew Heero was all right, were slowly pushed back until the five stood together in a tight circle, their weapons raised in front of them as they prepared for the elven attack.
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Zallithus could not hold back the snarl that escaped his bloodied lips as he watched the braided fairy twirl and slash with his scythe in an intricate and beautiful dance of death. The betrayal he felt in the depths of his black heart no less painful or rage inducing than it had been those many thousands of years ago. But instead of allowing the anger to control him, he channeled it into his magic, giving it almost a life of its own as he sent strike after strike at that small body. Shinigami though, was in his prime. With his own power flowing through Duo body, combining with the fairy's in a harmony he could not have dreamed possible, he needed only to a small portion to block Zallithus' attack. He knew though that the dark mage was not yet using his full power either. He knew that the real fight was still to begin.
"Tell me, Shin." Zallithus' voice came across the nearly twenty feet of open ground that now separated them. They were taking their time, regarding each other as they planned their next attacks and he had allowed his current sword to slowly dip downward as his arm tired. He had had to replace his sword twice so far, taking them from either a fallen elven warrior or one who just happened to come to close, after Shinigami's blade had cut them through. "Why do you fight me so hard when deep in your heart, you know this isn't what you want."
"And I guess you know what it is I want." the spirit of darkness shot back, an inquisitive look on his face.
"Life eternal, remember? That's what you wanted, what I offered you, and you turned your back on me." The mage stated matter-of-factly. "And now look at you, the very essence of the dream. In the fairy's body, you will live forever. Isn't that your greatest desire?"
"Once." Shinigami said was a small, sad nod of his head. "But now.... I've lived far longer than anyone has a right to, we all have. Our time ended a long time ago, Zall, and now it's time to rest."
"Well I for one have no desire in simply ceasing to exist."
"You don't know if that's the way it'll be. No one can know what it's like on the other side."
"And you can't be sure it's not."
"No, but I'm willing to take the chance. Something you've never been able to do; trust in fate."
The sneer that twisted the possessed elf's face at that statement could have curdled milk. Then in a flash, he charged across the distance, his sword once again raised and prepared to strike. But when Shinigami met him near the halfway point, the elf feinted to the right while his right hand released the sword and came down on the middle of the spirit's back. The blast that struck that small frame sent the spirit of darkness flying across the field to land face down in the broken grass, his scythe coming to rest nearly three feet away. For a long moment, a hush fell over the area and as Shinigami lay motionless, Zallithus walked calmly toward his prone form.
"Too cocky." The dark mage said with a shake of his head, his eyes never leaving the fallen spirit. "You always did have a problem with that. Too bad for you, too good for me."
When he was finally standing over Shinigami's still form, Zallithus reached down and grabbed him by the back of what remained of his shirt. The blast had shredded the supple, black fabric of the garment along with both sets of wings. The possessed elf could only imagine the pain such wounds would cause as he pulled the unresponding body from the ground before spinning him around and slamming him back down onto his torn back. The pain of those wounds pulled the spirit back from the near unconsciousness he had been drifting in and drew a wretched scream from his throat.
"My how the mighty have fallen." Zallithus sneered down at him, once again gripping the spirit's shirt and using it to press the borrowed body harder into the ground. Shinigami felt his vision dim once again at the amount of pain the simple act induced. Zallithus merely smirked down at him. "And now, as you said earlier, let's finish this."
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From his vantage point high among the peaks of the Southern Mountain range, Josadia watched the events unfolding far below on the plains. His enhanced eyesight, strengthened by magic, allowing him to clearly see the dire circumstances of the small force, who were now mostly decimated by the elves superior numbers. The advance troop of rebel fighter that had fought so hard to hold off the main body of the elven army were no more, leaving only those who remained of the fore group to face their brunt. A battle they were quickly losing. It was not until he saw the chosen ones become surrounding by those forces though, followed closely by Duo's fall to the hands of the council head that he knew he could wait no longer.
/It is time, my friends./ he called to the ones who had answered his summons the day before, his voice reflecting his sadness at his next words. /For the sake of this world and those we care about, we must make our stand here and now along side the Seeker./
No answer was forthcoming from those that were gathered around him, but he had not expected one, they all knew what the consequences of their actions would be. They also knew what would happen if they did not. So, with a mighty sweep of his wings, the great black dragon launched himself from his perch, flying a short distance from the mountain's jagged peaks before laying his wings flat along his back and plunging quickly through the clouds. A company of nearly twenty dragons, all varying in size, shape, and color, followed closely in his wake.
They made a truly terrifying sight as they swooped down toward the embattled armies in their diamond-shaped formation. And as the first elves saw them, cries of alarm and screams of fear filled the valley floor. But they would not let that stop them and as they encountered the first of the elven army forces, they released the blistering heat they kept ready in their throats, scouring the ground and all those in its path. In his heart, Josadia felt the loss of their carefully guarded peace shake him to the very core and knew that from this day forward, their world would never be the same.
TBC...
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